nine of flowers or ten of flowers. that is the question.

if the photo from the countryfile calendar for the month of june is the nine of flowers 

then it must be followed by a pessimistic ten of flowers - it is late summer, the earth has cracked, the summer sun has scorched the once green plants to straw, the flowers have run to seed and the mice and birds feed on them. the next cycle is prepared. 

if the photo is the ten of flowers then we simply have the high point of the world throwing up beauty.

the model for a pessimistic minor arcana is probably swords - in the rider waite pack in the  ten of swords the body of the warrior lies fallen with about 4 swords stuck in him and the other 6 stuck in the ground (it is a perfect illustration of the adage 'live by the sword, die by the sword'). with 9 of swords 8 of the swords hang on the wall above the bed of the warrior (who cannot sleep for his worries) only one sword beneath him (in the land of instinct and the subconscious) remains to be used. perhaps an illustration of uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. 

horsemouth seems to be broadcasting lots of japanese lifestyle porn (as a rest from forest pixie  material) at the minute. sample dialogue 'one of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats'. he likes the furniture and the kitchen implements (horsemouth likes a lot of natural wood, ingenious storage solutions and mis-matched crockery shown in close-up). the breakfast proposed is a bit meaty by horseouth's standards (he has been a vegetarian - and sometime vegan - for about 40 years now) but is very nicely presented. 

horsemouth's usual breakfast (largely continued here at his folks) is coffee followed by museli (once he has got that pesky blogging lark out of the way) and then he may move on to some toast. at the weekend his parents tend to have eggs and toast for breakfast as a treat. thereafter horsemouth switches to tea for the day. 

sten phoned. sten is sending him his post and additional coffee. 

horsemouth was mostly traveling yesterday so he hasn't read or watched anything particularly. he had some zoom beers (two beers) with howard after and they rabbited on. after dinner he went for a quick walk on the common and saw a muntjac deer (as well as some rabbits and the ponies). 

today has started overcast but the sun is rapidly burning it off.